


Hey Jealousy

by ToxicLatteHottie (Aya_Chi007)



Category: The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals - Team StarKid
Genre: Angst, Cuddles, Gift Giving, Infidelity, M/M, Snooping, swears
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-12
Updated: 2019-04-12
Packaged: 2020-01-12 01:18:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18436049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aya_Chi007/pseuds/ToxicLatteHottie
Summary: Ted was just trying to find the gift Henry had for him. He didn't expect to find this





	Hey Jealousy

     It’s been on his mind all day. Sure, he shouldn’t have been going through Henry’s desk. But the bastard shouldn’t have hinted that he had bought a gift for Ted then left him at the house alone. However, now the gift is the farthest thing from his mind. Hell, he didn’t even manage to find it. Instead, he found Henry’s yearbook from his last year of college in one of the drawers. Tucked in the front cover was a blank envelope bursting with folded papers.

 

     A small huff of laughter left Ted as he poured out the papers. “Did that nerd actually keep all of his old notes?” he muttered fondly. He picked up one of the squares and unfolded it. It hadn’t been Henry’s hasty, spiky handwriting on the page. Instead, it had been looping, almost elegant. Ted’s stomach had dropped as he read the faded ink, read the flattering, charming words of love and adoration. He hadn’t been able to stop his gasp when he saw the signature at the bottom:   
  
_      Chad  _

 

     In a haze, where somehow things seemed to move faster and slower at the same time, Ted opened more of the notes. Same handwriting, same signature. Finally, sense regained hold of him. Reality snapped back together as he shoved the notes back into the envelope. Heart racing, he threw the yearbook back into the drawer.

 

     Henry made it in from work a couple hours ago, He had given Ted a kiss, asked about his day, and ordered dinner before heading down to the lab. 

 

     Ted groans as he sets the takeout boxes on the counter. It’s going to be hell trying to get Henry out of the lab to actually eat, but he knows he needs to get him to. Or at least try. Sighing, he heads towards the lab.

 

     “Babe,” he calls as he walks in. Henry is, unsurprisingly, wearing his lab gear while examining some plant oozing a weird substance. “Food’s here.”

 

     Henry grunts in response, still not looking away from where he’s collecting the ooze into a microscope slide. Ted sighs as he turns, pausing as he catches sight of a picture on the bookshelf. Curious, he walks over and picks it up. There’s Henry, younger than Ted’s ever seen him, with wavy chestnut hair. He can pick out Greg and Stu. He’s met them, went out and played a few games of flag football with them and got his ass absolutely destroyed. He’s heard Henry talk about Leighton and how his fiery red hair would get him all kinds of girls on the weekends. His finger taps against the glass over Leighton’s face. He’s guessing the guy next to Leighton must be Mark. Olive skin, black hair, handsome features. That means…

 

     His eyes drift back to Henry in the picture. It’s then he notices Henry isn’t looking at the camera. Instead, he’s looking up adoringly at the guy standing next to him. Blonde hair, blue eyes that even the old photograph can’t dull, and a dazzling smile. That must be Chad. He has an arm slung around Henry’s waist in what could be passed off in a friendly way, if you didn’t know better.

 

     Ted knows better though.

 

     "Hey,  Henry?" Ted calls,  his voice uncharacteristically tentative, as he sets the picture frame back on the bookshelf. He gets another grunt of acknowledgement. Taking a deep breath, he looks over at Henry. "What happened to Chad?"

 

     Henry goes still at his lab table,  so still it's almost eerie. Like the statues Ted hated walking past on his way to school growing up. "We graduated," Henry answers, his voice flat. He straightens up, setting his slide aside. "He proposed to his girlfriend,  they moved back to his home state and had a family. Last I heard, his eldest had just graduated from college." As he speaks, his gloves get peeled off and tossed in the trash. Next, his goggles come off and are set on the desk with his papers. He looks at Ted and Ted instantly regrets asking. Henry looks so  _ empty _ all of a sudden. “Why?”

 

     “I just-” Dammit, he didn’t think this far ahead. “You always tell stories about the others… I just found it, y’know,  _ weird _ , that you never mentioned him as much.”

 

     Nodding, Henry walks over, glancing at the picture on the bookshelf. “We had a… a falling out of sorts after graduation,” he explains, “At that point, it was just easier to cut our ties and losses and move on with our lives.” He stares pensively at the photo for a moment before smiling. “You said dinner was here, right?” he claps Ted on the shoulder before reaching down to take his hand. “Come on, let’s go eat before it gets cold.”

 

     Thankfully, the food isn’t cold. However, Henry isn’t doing much eating. That worries Ted. His own fork isn’t doing much moving. He’s too busy watching Henry. Henry notices, giving Ted a small smile before his eyes light up. “Oh right! I almost forgot.” Chuckling, he takes Ted’s hand and presses a kiss to the back of it. “Your gift. No wonder you’ve been staring me down like a beast.” He stands, promising to be back soon before retreating to his office.

 

     It’s barely a minute before Henry returns, except he’s empty handed. Ted sits up in confusion, but before he can ask, Henry holds up a shaking hand. “I’ll ask once, Ted. Did you go through my things while I was at work?”

 

     Ted wants to lie. He wants so badly to lie. But from the way Henry is looking at him, he already knows. So there’s no point. “Yes,” he says quietly before quickly trying to defend himself. “I was trying to find the gift you got me-”   
  


     “What did you find instead?”

 

     Ted recoils. He’s never heard Henry sound like this, so…  _ cold _ , so  _ harsh _ . “Your yearbook.” He stands, walking over to where Henry stands, trembling and glaring at him. “Babe, I didn’t mean to-”

 

     Henry takes a step back, eyes narrowed. “What did you find, Ted?” he repeats. “Is it why you asked about- about Chad?”

 

     “I-Yes, alright. I found the notes in your yearbook,” Ted confesses. “But I swear I only looked at them cause I thought they were lecture notes not fucking love letters! If it's been so many years, if you really ‘cut your ties,’ why do you still have them?” He's lashing out. Ted knows he is. But the idea that Henry could still be in love with someone else… it's scary.

 

     For a moment, he thinks Henry is going to yell. Every muscle in his body is tensed, ready for it. Then something completely worse happens. 

 

     Henry's entire frame slumps as he staggers forward,  leaning heavily against Ted. On instinct, Ted catches him, slowly lowering then both to the floor. After a few seconds of arranging,  Ted's propped up against the wall with Henry on his lap, curled up against his chest. Neither of them speaks for what feels like the longest time.

 

     Finally, Ted hears a tiny, sad laugh. “Do you want to know why I kept them? The notes?” Henry asks quietly as he lifts his head to look at him. Ted hesitates a moment before nodding. “They were a reminder to never be so foolish again.”

 

     “Foolish? What... you had a college romance and it didn’t work out,” Ted says, feeling bewildered. “Join the rest of the world. At least the asshole didn’t murder you.”

 

     “Might have been less painful if he had,” Henry muses with a shake of his head. “It wasn’t that simple, Ted. We shared a room in the house. We were around each other constantly. He was so… so charming.” Henry’s gaze becomes distant and Ted gets the feeling he’s not totally there anymore. “The first time it happened was freshman year after a few too many drinks at a party. We fell into the same bed and…” He laughs awkwardly, cheeks flushing a bit. “We kept it a secret. He had a girlfriend after all.

 

     “He… He kept promising that he would break up with her, that he wanted to be with me,” Henry says softly. “He wrote me letters, notes, poems, always left them for me to find in our room. Then he’d go spend breaks with Stacy- that was his girlfriend’s name, Stacy, and her family.”

 

     Ted lets silence hang in the air for a few seconds before asking, “What would you do then? When he’d leave?”

 

     “I’d hang out with Steve,” Henry says, voice wavering slightly, “Hit the gym, maybe a few parties-”

 

     “Wait…” Ted frowns, looking at Henry seriously. “You don’t talk about Steve much either. Did something…”

 

     Henry freezes before letting out an embarrassed huff. “You’ve grown to know me too well, Ted.” He shifts so he’s facing Ted, a knee on either side of his hips. “Yes. It was winter break, I didn’t have a family to go visit and Steve offered to stay with me while everyone else went home. A few drinks and suddenly I was spilling everything that was going on between Chad and myself... “ His hands fidget with Ted’s shirt. “He… he told me I deserved someone better than that, someone who would be completely devoted to me. I kissed him. It felt like getting even with Chad, if he could have someone else than I could too. Any time Chad would be off with Stacy, I’d hook up with Steve.

 

     “I’m... I’m not proud of it,” Henry whispers, not making eye contact with Ted. “I blatantly used Steve, someone who genuinely cared about me because I was so hung up on Chad. When Chad proposed to Stacy at graduation, I realized he never planned to follow through on all of his promises. I packed up, got the hell out of there, and moved on to grad school. That’s why…” He takes a deep breath before finally lifting his head to meet Ted’s eyes. “That’s why it was a reminder to never be so foolish again.”

 

     Ted takes a moment to process everything before sighing. Tenderly, he reaches a hand up to brush Henry’s hair out of his eyes. “Babe… join the fucking club.” Henry’s eyes widen but before he can speak, Ted’s continuing, “You can’t beat yourself up over something you did when you when in college. God, if I did that, I wouldn’t deserve anything good in the world. Including you.” He smiles fondly. “But we changed, I think for the better. I know I wouldn’t want you any other way.”

 

     “Look at you being romantic,” Henry teases before resting his forehead against Ted’s. “Thank you. I’ve… never told anyone all of this before.” They bask in the tranquility of the moment for a few seconds before Henry stands, holding out a hand to help pull Ted to his feet. “We should probably finish eating.”

 

     “Hey, don’t think you get to get out of giving me my gift just because you told me a sob story,” Ted says playfully, nudging Henry with his shoulder.

 

     That gets a laugh out of Henry. “Fine, fine.” He walks out of the kitchen, coming back a few minutes later with a small box. “It’s nothing fancy,” he warns, handing the box to Ted as he sits next to him.

 

     Ted just grins, pulling the lid off the box. Inside is a class ring with a beautiful ruby stone set in it. He takes a minute to look over the etchings and engravings on the sides before turning the ring to look inside the band. Engraved on the shiny smooth interior of the band in elegant script is the name  _ Henry Oliver Hidgens _ .

 

     “Your middle name is Oliver?” Ted asks incredulously, staring at Henry with a smirk. 

 

     Henry rolls his eyes and takes the ring. Before Ted can protest, Henry slides the ring onto his finger. “Just wear the damn thing, Ted,” he mutters before giving him a kiss that Ted happily returns.


End file.
